Shallot
Allium cepa var. aggregatum
In a typical UK garden, plant out early February to late March, and harvest mid-June to mid-August.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Plant out
- early February to late Marchearly October to late November
- Harvest
- mid-June to mid-August
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 20 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart
- Square foot
- 4 per square (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- Grown from plants, sets or crowns
- Ready in
- 110 to 140 days from planting
- Grows to
- 40 cm
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -10 °C
- Sun
- Full sun
- Crops for
- One harvest
Growing tip
Plant sets with tips just showing; each one splits into a cluster of eight to twelve bulbs.
Neighbours
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Alliums are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works
Guides
Onion sets go in from March, or in autumn for an earlier crop
Plant onion sets from early March to mid-April for onions that store well, or from mid-September to mid-October with a hardy overwintering variety for an early summer crop. Shallot sets go in from early October to late November, or February to late March.
Plant one shallot set and lift up to twelve next summer
Plant shallot sets from early February to late March, or from early October to late November for an earlier crop on well-drained soil. Each set splits into a cluster of eight to twelve shallots, ready to lift from mid-June to mid-August.
More alliums
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For shallot, we used:
Grow shallot with VegLog
Add shallot to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
